New rental rules risk backfiring

Commenting on the introduction of the government’s rental reforms legislation, Matthew Lesh, Director of Public Policy and Communications at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:

“Making it harder to evict residents is only likely to make it harder to rent. Landlords will inevitably be more selective about who they offer properties to and charge higher rents when they cannot quickly evict bad tenants. That is likely to disproportionately hurt those who are poorer, younger, and from minority communities.

“Anti-landlord measures, including tax changes, and higher interest rates, are already contributing to many withdrawing properties from the market. New eviction rules and burdensome regulatory standards will only worsen the rental property shortage and record-high rents.

“The housing crisis won’t be solved by fiddling with rental rules. Britain needs fundamental planning reform to allow more homes to be built where people want to live – anything else will continue to see renters offered poorer quality homes at too high prices.”